Lady of the Manor: The Spirit of Halloween
by LoveofVelma
Summary: Second in the "Lady of the Manor" series. Fred and Daph have an unwanted visitor, A poltergeist but what does it want? F/D with S/D hints.


Lady of the Manor: The Spirit of Halloween

Chapter one: Poltergeist

Their home had been tastefully decorated for the upcoming Halloween holiday with black and orange balloons floating along the ceiling, creepy crepe paper streamers and bowls of brightly wrapped candy.

Even the newly renovated nursery sported cartoon characters. Everything was in readiness for the trick-or-treaters that would come knocking. Halloween was Daphne's favorite holiday excluding Christmas of course. This would be their first Halloween in their new home; the hard work in restoring 'Green Manor' to its previous state had been worth every penny.

Halloween wasn't the only thing the young couple had to look forward to. With Shaggy taking the food cravings and Fred the cramping and morning sickness, Daphne had sailed through the pregnancy with few stormy seas. Never one to procrastinate, other than sleeping in on occasion, Daphne had become irritable in one area.

"Three weeks, Freddie. I'm due in three weeks. We really need to choose a girl's name." They had elected to be surprised, not knowing the baby's sex until it made its arrival. Closing the book of baby names, Daphne sighed, leaning back into her husband's arms. She welcomed his arms pulling her into a warm embrace. Their lips less than an inch apart in anticipation of the coming kiss.

"I have a plan." Their lips brushed then lingered. A kiss of long time friends finding and acknowledging the love they had held at bay for so long. In three weeks they would welcome their first addition; it would be their parents first grandchild and everyone prayed for a safe delivery.

"You always have a plan." Shivers of passion ran a marathon up her spine with his hand rubbing her protruding stomach, moving upwards. She slipped her hand under his pullover, "I bet I can guess what it is."

"We choose ten names, put them in a hat..."

"Not funny, Freddie!" She playfully slapped his shoulder. "I liked your other plan better."

They were jolted from their thoughts when the antique coffee table, a wedding gift from Daphne's parents began to rock back and forth, slowly at first, then more violently; the sound reverberating

through out the room. At times it seemed the table launched into the air, no legs touching the floor.

"Freddie!" The arms that encircled her grew tighter, protectively. "Is...is this a quake?"

"I don't think so, Daph." Fred tried to ignore the steel trap that squeezed his chest, making breathing almost impossible. He failed.

It took every ounce of self-control Daphne possessed not to scream.

The table had stopped its rocking motion, settling down on solid ground but the mysterious occurrences continued when a picture flew off the wall. Floating at eye level the picture approached the overstuffed sofa, dropping beside the book of names.

"Jeepers! Having my hair stand on end does nothing for my 'do."

The book of names opened, its pages turning faster than the eye could comprehend, faster and faster the pages passed as if propelled by some supernatural wind but there was no wind inside 'Green Haven'. Fred and Daphne had forgotten to breathe, caught in the phenomenon before them. The pages came to an end, the book somersaulted, opening to a page with a large 'C' at the top.

"What's shaking?" Shaggy asked as he, Velma and Scooby entered the room. Four wide, terror filled eyes turned to stare blankly at the new arrivals.

"Gang, I think we have a mystery on our hands." Fred shook his head in hopes of breaking the spell.

"Is that all you can say, Fred? We just experienced the most terrifying thing we've ever encountered!"

"What happened, Daph?" Velma went immediately to her pregnant friend. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Daphne took a deep breath, trying to calm the inner trembling, releasing the breath slowly . Her voice shook as she repeated the the events of the evening.

Continued in "A Poltergeist Is No Guest"


End file.
